Discharge valve for rotating drum material treater



P 24, 1968 L. R. SOULIER 3,402,918

DISCHARGE VALVE FOR ROTATING DRUM MATERIAL TREATER Filed Dec. 20, 1966 FIG INVENTOR 50144436 ATTORNEY United States Patent DISCHARGE VALVE FOR ROTATING DRUM MATERIAL TREATER Louis R. Soulier, Monroe, La., assignor to Columbian Carbon Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 20, 1966, Ser. No. 603,348 Claims. (Cl. 259-30) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A particulate material discharge device for rotary drum treaters having an axially movable dam, with an attached circular flange which fits either in or over the discharge end of the rotary drum walls. A series of ports or openings. are located on the wall of the flange, so that when the-dam is moved away from the discharge end of the rotary drum, the openings in the flange are uncovered allowing complete and quick discharge of material in the drum.

Background of the invention This invention relates to an improved rotating drum material treater and more particularly to the material discharge means thereof.

Rotating-drum material treaters generally comprise a horizontally disposed elongated drum that is slowly rotated in order to tumble a particulated material charge carried inside of the drum during the treating operation. The material is tumbled in order to effect physical changes in the nature of the material by means of tumbling alone or to enhance physical or chemical changes in the material by continually exposing particle surfaces to heat or a chemical treating agent. Accordingly, rotating-drum treaters may be employed wi'.h pulverulent materials as a dryer, pelletizer or chemical reactor. In other instances, they may be employed to thoroughly rnix one or more pulverulent solids in order to produce a blend of materials. Furthermore, one or more of the aforementioned operations may be carried on simultaneously within the drum.

Rotating-drum treaters of the general class described herein will have affixed to the discharge end of the drum a ring-shaped dam which retains a treating bed of the material within the drum during the treating operation. The quantity of material composing the bed is generally fixed by the height of the dam, i.e., when the drum is rotat'ed, material will discharge from the drum only after the'interior has been filled to the point where spillage over the darn occurs. The amount of material held up within the drum may be quite considerable, e.g., hundreds or thousands of pounds, but presents no problem as long as the treating process is operated continuously. If, however, it becomes necessary for some reason to completely empty the drum, this cannot be conveniently accomplished without hand removal of the dam. Otherwise, the drum must be opened and the material removed by hand with shovels.

In either case, the treater must be shut down to permit workmen to remove the dam or enter the drum. These are time consuming procedures that become even more extensive if the drum is hot or contains toxic materials. It should also be pointed out that shutting down operation of the drum usually involves shut down of various auxiliary process equipment as well, so that emptying of the drum becomes a tedious procedure in any case.

In continuous treating processes for eflecting one type or grade of product, there is seldom any need to completely empty the drum of the material treating bed. However, if the process is batch in nature, or if more 3,402,918 Patented Sept. 24, 1968 than one product is produced by means of a continuous process, the need to completely empty the drum may arise frequently in order to recover all of the product or prevent cross-contamination of one product with another.

Summary of the invention The apparatus of this invention provides for the complete discharge of material from the rotary drum material treater irrespective of the amount or condition of material in the drum.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a discharge valve whereby a rotating-drum treater may be completely emptied of a material treating bed contained therein.

It is a further object to provide means for completely emptying a rotating-drum material treater without hand removal of the dam.

Still another object is to provide means for completely emptying a rotating-drum material treater while the drum is rotating.

Yet another object is to provide means for completely emptying a rotating-drum material treater while obviating the need to remove the material treating bed by hand.

Even another object is to provide means for completely emptying a rotating-drum material treater when the material is hot or toxic.

Still another object is to provide means for completely emptying a rotating-drum material treater without having to shut down auxiliary apparatus associated with said treater.

These and other objects are fully met by the present invention, as will hereinafter become apparent from the following description and the appended claims. Briefly described, this invention comprises a ring-shaped dam having a tube or flange axially affixed to the inside face of the dam, the tube or flange being adapted for axial movement with respect to said drum, While maintaining the wall of the tube contiguous with the wall of the drum. The wall of the tube is provided with a series of material discharge openings which are occluded by the Wall of the drum when the tube is positioned in one axial relationship therewith, and the openings are unoccluded for free discharge of treated material out of the drum when positioned in a second axial relationship. Accordingly, the material treating bed is retained within the drum when the assembly consisting of the ring-shaped dam and tube are in the first axial relationship, and material may be quickly and freely discharged from the drum when the assembly is in the second axial relationship. By use of associated means, the assembly may be positioned in either relationship while the drum is running or stopped and whether its contents are hot or cold. Likewise, repositioning of the .assembly may be quickly accomplished with minimum effort.

Brief description of the drawings The invention will be further explained with reference to :the drawings, which represent only one embodiment, and other accordant embodiments will become apparent from this description.

FIGURE 1 is a sectional side view of the discharge end of a rotating-drum material treater with the discharge valve therein.

FIGURE 2 is a front view of the discharge valve sectioned along the line AA.

Description of the preferred embodiment In FIGURE 1, the cylindrical wall 1 of the rotating drum is supported upon rollers 2 which engage a girth ring 3 attached to the cylinder wall 1 around its circumference. The drum is rotated with conventional drive means which are not shown.

To prevent leakage of materials out of the drum into the atmosphere, a hood, generally represented at 4, is located over the end of the drum, and a seal ring 5 completes the enclosure so that materials discharged from the drum pass out of discharge spout 6 to a point of collection. The hood remains stationary during rotating of the drum.

Fitted into the end of the drum is a tubular member 7, hereinafter referred to as tube, having a series of material discharge openings or outlets 8 extending through the wall of the member around its circumference. The tube is attached to the inside face of a ring-shaped dam 9, in axial relationship therewith, to form a tube and dam assembly. The circumference of the tube 7 is sized to permit free axial movement of the tube and dam assembly while maintaining the wall of the tube contiguous with the wall of the drum in order that the openings 8 be cccluded when the assembly is inserted into the drum. The size, shape and number of openings 8 are not essential to the invention so long as sufficient open area is provided for free discharge of material when the tube and dam assembly is retracted from the drum.

As previously stated, the purpose of the dam is to retain a quantity of material within the drum as a treating bed. This is accomplished by using the ring-shaped dam 9 having an inside diameter sized to maintain a treating bed of desirable depth. Consequently, in the present invention, the tube 7 will have an inside diameter larger than the inside diameter of the ring-shaped dam 9 in order that the dam perform its intended function.

By reference to the drawings, it can be seen that positioning of the tube and dam assembly in axial relationship to the drum effects opening and closure of the material discharge openings 8. When the assembly is inserted into the drum to the extent represented by the solid lines, the openings 8 are occluded by the Wall 1 of the drum and the material treating bed is retained in the drum by the dam. However, when the assembly is retracted from the drum, as indicated by the broken lines, the openings 8 are unoccluded and material discharges therefrom by gravity since the openings are located behind the dam and below its base. In rotating-drum material treaters, flow of the treating bed toward the discharge end during rotating is accomplished by slightly inclination of the drum or by means of helical vanes attached to the inside of the drum wall. Therefore, when the tube and dam assembly is in the position indicated by the broken lines, substantially complete emptying of the drum can be accomplished in a short period of time.

Positioning of the tube and dam assembly in axial relationship with the drum may be accomplished in a variety of ways but especially advantageous means are shown in the drawings. Spokes 10 are attached at one end to the tube 7 and at the other end to a hub assembly consisting of a ring 11, centerpiece 12 and struts 13. Shaft 14 is attached to the centerpiece 12 of the hub assembly and extends outwardly from that point through an axial thrust bearing 15 attached to the face 16 of the hood 4. Axial alignment of shaft 14 is assured by the attachment of stifi'eners 17 to the struts 13 and to the shaft 14 at a point intermediate the centerpiece 12 and the bearing 15. At its outer end, shaft 14 is inserted into a ball bearing 18 to which is also affixed a threaded shaft 19, and the arrangement is such that shaft 14 is free to rotate while threaded shaft 19 does not. However, rotation of handle 20 attached to threaded shaft 19 results in axial movement of both shafts and the axial relationship of the tube and darn assembly in respect to the drum is thus accomplished. Accordingly, the tube and dam assembly may be positioned either when the drum is rotating or at rest. Block 21 has internal threads to accommodate the external threads of shaft 19, and block 21 is aligned and rendered stationary will braces 22 so that free axial movement of the shafts is assured. Nuts 23a and 2317 are threadedly mounted onto shaft 19 and spaced apart to limit the extent to which the tube and dam assembly is inserted int-o and withdrawn from the drum. Where preferred both nuts 23a and 23b may be secured against block 21 to lock the assembly in place at an intermediate position.

While it is not essential that the tube and dam assembly be rotated in conjunction with the drum, such arrangement provides the advantage of avoiding binding which might occur between the opposite surfaces of the tube and the drum wall should the surfaces be misaligned or should particulated material lodge in the space between the two.

With the apparatus as previously described, the tube and dam assembly may be rotated by the use of detents 24 in the tube Wall which engage corresponding lugs 25 attached to the inside of the drum wall 1. As can be seen, the detents 24 and lugs 25 are arranged to permit limited axial movement of the tube and dam assembly while remaining engaged. The rotating motion of the drum is thus transmitted to the tube and dam assembly while retaining the capability of repositioning the tube and dam assembly during rotation.

While the invention has been described with reference to a tubular member which inserts inside of the drum, it also encompasses the use of a tube that slips over the outside of the drum, for in either case the material discharge openings may be opened or closed by axial positioning of the tube while maintaining the wall of the tube continguous with the wall of the drum.

In a continuous operation, untreated particulated material is fed into the rotating drum from the end not shown on the drawing, and will accumulate within the bottom of the drum until a treating bed is created therein having a depth equal to the height of the dam above the inside surface of the drum wall 1. Thereafter, material will spill over the dam and pass out of the hood 4 through the discharge spout 6 as long as untreated material is fed into the drum, i.e. discharge of treated material is effected by displacement from the treating bed with untreated material. When it is desirable to remove the material composing the treating bed from the drum, the feed of untreated material is interrupted and the tube and dam assembly is retracted while rotation of the drum continues. To reestablish the treating bed, the tube and dam assembly is reinserted into the drum and the feed of untreated material into the drum is recommenced. It will be appreciated that the end of the drum into which the material is fed is provided with another dam or other obstruction member to prevent discharge of material out of the drum except at the discharge end.

In batch operations, the drum is charged with any desired quantity of material permitted by the height of the dam, and the treating operation is carriedout without discharge of material over the dam, although the dam serves as a retainer for the treating bed. Once treatment is finished, discharge of the material composing the treating bed is effected in the same manner as previously described.

Whereas, having described the invention, and intending to cover all changes and modifications of the embodiment of the invention herein shown for purposes of the disclosure which are within the spiritand scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. Discharge valve for a rotating-drum material treater comprising (a) a ring shaped dam located ,at the discharge end end of the drum to retain a quantity of material within the drum during rotation thereof,

(b) a tube affixed to the inside face of said, dam and arranged in axial alignment therewith, the inside diameter of said tube being larger than the inside diameter of said ring-shaped dam, said tube being adapted for axial movement with respect to said drum while maintaining the wall of the tubecontiguous with the wall of the drum, said tube having a series of material discharge openings through the wall thereof whereby said holes are occluded by the wall of the drum when said tube is in a first axial relationship therewith and said holes are unoccluded for free discharge of material out of the drum when in a second axial relationship therewith,

(c) means for locating the tube in axial relationship with the drum for selective opening and closure of the material discharge openings in the wall of the tube, and

(c) means for retaining the tube in position after selective axial location thereof in relation to the drum.

2. Apparatus of claim 1 including spokes which extend radially with respect to the drum axis, said spokes being aflixed at their inner ends to a hub and being affixed at their outer end to the assembly consisting of the ring shaped dam and the afiixed tube, and said means for locating the tube in axial relationship with the drum includes an axially extending shaft which is attached at one end to said hub for the spokes, whereby axial movement of the shaft effects corresponding axial movement of the tube.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 including a hood which covers the discharge end of the drum, said shaft extends through the face of the hood and is supported by means of a bearing mounted thereon, and the means for retaining the tube in position after axial location thereof are conjunctive with the shaft and located outside of the hood.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the outside wall of the tube member is contiguous with the inside wall of the rotating.

5. Apparatus of claim 1 in which the tube is provided with one or more detents in the wall thereof and the wall of the drum is provided With one or more correspending lugs which engage the detents, whereby rotation is imparted to the dam and tube assembly by rotation of the drum.

6. A discharge valve in a circumferentially walled maopenings is unoccluded by the walls of the treater when the end plate is in the second position.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the material treater is a rotary drum material treater and the end plate is circular and has a centrally located circular opening therethrough, thereby forming a dam.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the flange is tubular, and has a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the rotary drum material treater.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein a series of spaced apart lugs are mounted on the inside of the rotary drum material treater Wall at the discharge end thereof and a series of equally spaced detents are located in the wall of the tubular flange opposite the series of lugs when the end plate and tubular flange are in the first position whereby the tubular flange and end plate are caused to rotate in unison with the rotary drum material treater.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 including a hood fixedly located at the discharge end of the rotary drum material treater, the hood enclosing the tubular flange and end plate and having a discharge spout at the bottom end thereof, and the means for moving the end plate from a first position against the walls to a second position substantially spaced apart from the walls of the treater comprises:

(a) a stationary, internally-threaded shaft support which is mounted exteriorly on the hood coaxially with the tubular flange and end plate,

(b) an externally-threaded, independently rotatable first shaft threadably mounted in the shaft support, said first shaft having an outward extension with a handle thereon,

(c) a second shaft coaxial with the first shaft and relatively coupled thereto extending from outside the hood into the rotary drum material treater,

(d) a hub mounted on the inner end of the second shaft, and

(e) a series of angularly-spaced spokes attached circumferentially to said hub, said spokes extending outwardly and attached to said tubular flange, whereby the end plate and tubular flange are axially movable between the first and second positions by turning the handle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 861,235 7/1907 Huyck 25930 XR 2,063,574 12/1936 Yett 259--175 XR 3,126,577 3/1964 Loewen 2593 XR WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner.

J. M. BELL, Assistant Examiner. 

